Current surgical procedures often require a great deal of skill from the surgeon. The procedures may include making fine manipulations by hand using high-speed equipment. One example includes preparing opposing surfaces of vertebral members for receiving an intermediate device, such as preparing the end plates of adjacent vertebrae to receive a graft or interbody fusion device. Each of the end plates is contoured and shaped using a cutting instrument that is held and manipulated by the surgeon. The surgeon guides the cutting instrument by hand and relies upon experience and training to ensure the end plates are contoured correctly.
It may be difficult for the surgeon to determine the amount of contouring and shaping required for each of the vertebral members. A trial-and-error routine is performed as the surgeon removes a first amount of material from one or both surfaces and determines whether the spacing is adequate for receiving the intermediate device. If the spacing is not adequate, the surgeon removes an additional amount from one or both of the surfaces. This routine continues until the proper amount has been removed and the surfaces are adequately prepared. The surgeon is careful not to remove too much from either surface, and instead tends to remove small increments.